Becoming Mrs Blythe
by Koala Penguin
Summary: A one-shot, where on their wedding night, Gilbert discovers how Anne's life was like before Green Gables and with the Hammonds.


It was Anne and Gilbert's wedding night. Anne trembled in excitement but also in fear of the unknown. She had spoken to Diana about her wedding night. Diana had described the wonderful feeling of sharing her body with the person who loved her the most but the thought of the act itself was still so confusing to Anne.

Gilbert stroke Anne's red hair. He adored her hair, the silky shine and the flowery smell. He still regretted the day he called Anne carrots. So much time had been lost through that one mistake. But it was also a memory he cherished. He saw Anne's fiery spirit and fell for her even more. Anne was now his to love forever.

Gilbert slowly undressed Anne. It was like unwrapping a present on Christmas morning until he noticed the light scarring on her back and then the nasty splash marks on her thigh. Gilbert was a Doctor so he knew that Anne must have been in sheer agony when she received these wounds.

"Anne, what is this?" Gilbert asked softly.

"It doesn't matter. It happened before my life truly started." Anne replied reflectively.

Gilbert didn't know much about Anne's life before she came to be Anne of Green Gables but he was determined to find out now. Anne was his wife, his to protect and love. They didn't keep secrets from each other. Not like this.

"Anne this isn't nothing." Gilbert wanted Anne to trust him with her past but he hoped that she was supported emotionally with it before now. "Does Marilla know what happened?"

"No. When I first came to Green Gables Marilla asked me about my past. I think she could see that I wasn't giving the whole truth." Anne's lip quivered as she remembered the memories of her life in the years before Marilla decided to take her in.

"That sounds like Marilla." Gilbert smiled. He was so thankful to Marilla for saving Anne from any more harm. "Have you told anyone what happened? Matthew. Diana."

"No." Anne gently shook her head. She wanted to stop talking about this and for it not to ruin her wedding night but she knew that Gilbert wouldn't let this go. "I've always had my imagination to carry me through it."

"Carry you through what, Anne?" Gilbert asked a little more firmly then he intended to.

Anne looked at Gilbert and decided he deserved to know "The cold. The hunger. The Hammonds took me in and they wanted me so that I could be helpful to them. Sometimes I didn't attend school and there wasn't always enough to go round."

"So you went without." Gilbert stated with a frown.

"I could only take what was going spare." Anne replied in a voice that was barely audible.

Gilbert stroked the back of his neck as he approached the subject of Anne's scars. "You were hurt Anne. Badly by the looks of it."

"My imagination got me through the day to day hardships. But…" A tear fell down Anne's face but she squared her shoulders. She wanted to tell Gilbert but she couldn't. Speaking about it made the memories more defined in her mind.

"Anne, please tell me. I can see from the scars you were mistreated." Gilbert gently encouraged. Gilbert felt that Anne needed to speak about this once and for all. He wasn't sure if Anne had truly dealt with her past or if she pretended that it didn't happen which meant it could hit her at any moment.

"It also got me into trouble. I got caught day dreaming whilst doing my chores and I was duly punished. They whipped me. The splash marks were just clumsiness." Anne sighed.

"You're not clumsy Anne." Gilbert contradicted Anne. He never wanted Anne to make excuses for the people who hurt her. Rage was following through Gilbert at what Anne had suffered but he wouldn't allow it to show.

"I was tired an awful lot and one day I knocked over a boiling pan of water. It was just an accident." Anne again excused the Hammonds but then saw the flash of anger in Gilbert's eyes. Anne tried her best to soothe him. "It's in the past now. I thank God every day for sending me to Green Gables by mistake. Please let it go. At least for tonight."

Gilbert agreed - Anne should just be blissfully happy on this day. "I thank God too, Anne. Anne I love you so much. It kills me to think you were used like that. You're my dearest sweetest companion and I'm so glad it's me who gets to share the rest of life with you so that I can treat you how you have always deserved to be treated."

That night Anne fell asleep in Gilbert's arms after discovering what it was to be in a passionate embrace with her husband. Suddenly, she was having a nightmare of events that happened long ago. Anne whimpered in her sleep and it woke Gilbert up.

Gilbert comforted her. "Anne, you're safe now. You're here with me and I'll never allow anything to harm you."

Anne visibly relaxed into Gilbert's loving arms.


End file.
